Christian truth and the pseudo-dialectical methodology of Alistair McFadyen

Abstract

ABSTRACT At the heart of this essay lies the problem of Christian universals. Sin-talk is arguably Christian theology’s primary contribution to any account of the human condition. Fashionable or unfashionable, welcome or unwelcome, it attempts to say something about who we all are. With sin being conceived as a universal, metaphysical dialectic was key to classical sin-talk’s explanatory power. In a series of books and articles, McFadyen developed an understanding of the nature of Christian truth and of what is here described as a pseudo-dialectical methodological theory to show how sin-talk (and indeed talk of any Christian universal) might yet have explanatory power in a post-modern, non-metaphysical, secular world. This article: (i) rehearses how by the end of the 20th century the loss of metaphysical dialectic had disabled Christian discourse’s capacity to gain purchase on Western society, (ii) explores McFadyen’s understanding of the character of Christian truth, (iii) analyses the problem of universals and of sin-talk in particular, (iv) explores McFadyen’s solution, and his particular indebtedness to Pannenberg, (v) suggests how McFadyen’s contribution might be evaluated.